Department of Neurotechnology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2024 Mar 21;14(1):6781. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-57285-7.
Many motor actions we perform have a sequential nature while learning a motor sequence involves both implicit and explicit processes. In this work, we developed a task design where participants concurrently learn an implicit and an explicit motor sequence across five training sessions, with EEG recordings at sessions 1 and 5. This intra-subject approach allowed us to study training-induced behavioral and neural changes specific to the explicit and implicit components. Based on previous reports of beta power modulations in sensorimotor networks related to sequence learning, we focused our analysis on beta oscillations at motor-cortical sites. On a behavioral level, substantial performance gains were evident early in learning in the explicit condition, plus slower performance gains across training sessions in both explicit and implicit sequence learning. Consistent with the behavioral trends, we observed a training-related increase in beta power in both sequence learning conditions, while the explicit condition displayed stronger beta power suppression during early learning. The initially stronger beta suppression and subsequent increase in beta power specific to the explicit component, correlated with enhanced behavioral performance, possibly reflecting higher cortical excitability. Our study suggests an involvement of motor-cortical beta oscillations in the explicit component of motor sequence learning.
我们执行的许多动作都具有顺序性质，而学习运动序列既涉及内隐过程，也涉及外显过程。在这项工作中，我们设计了一项任务，让参与者在五个训练阶段同时学习内隐和外显的运动序列，并在第 1 阶段和第 5 阶段进行 EEG 记录。这种个体内方法使我们能够研究特定于外显和内隐成分的训练诱导的行为和神经变化。基于与序列学习相关的感觉运动网络中β功率调制的先前报告，我们将分析重点放在运动皮质部位的β振荡上。在行为层面上，在明确条件下的学习早期就明显出现了大量的表现提升，而在明确和内隐序列学习中，整个训练过程中的表现提升都较慢。与行为趋势一致，我们观察到两种序列学习条件下β功率都随训练而增加，而在早期学习中，明确条件下的β功率抑制更强。明确成分特有的最初更强的β抑制和随后的β功率增加与增强的行为表现相关，可能反映了更高的皮质兴奋性。我们的研究表明，运动皮质β振荡参与了运动序列学习的外显成分。
